TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. — Content for briefs is selected from e-mail submissions to Community Editor Amy Edgett at aedgett@sierrasun.com. E-mail for print submissions may be 150 words. Items published in the print edition news space permitting.

Parasol Announces Community Fund Grants

---

---

The Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation is offering an unrestricted grant cycle highlighting leadership. The funds available for the cycle total $50,000 with an approximate average grant size of $5,000. Parasol encourages nonprofits that address community needs and demonstrate the capacity to provide unduplicated programs or services that will positively impact the Tahoe region now and for future generations to apply.

Requirements for the grant: Must be recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt agency, 501(c)3 public charity, government agency, school and/or faith based organization in good standing; be incorporated in Nevada or California and in good standing with respective state; provide quality services and programs to the Tahoe Basin in arts, culture and heritage, community development, education and youth, environment or social services.

---

---

Applications and supplemental materials are due by April 1, 2013. For more information and application form visit www.parasol.org/resources and click on Grant Opportunities to locate Community Fund Grants.

Become a volunteer Literacy/ESL tutor

Join Read Up!, the Nevada County Adult Literacy Program based at the Truckee Library. Tutors are dedicated community volunteers who wish to help interested students fine tune their reading, writing and speaking skills. Tutoring is a free service of Nevada County.

A free five-hour tutor training class will be provided at a convenient time for all new volunteers. Literacy/ESL tutoring is an enjoyable and productive way to give back to your community. To become a tutor, you must read, write and speak English well. For ESL tutoring, it would help if you had some knowledge of Spanish. You must be 18 years of age or older, be available two hours per week, be patient and flexible and have excellent communication skills plus know how to listen.

Contact Rolann Aronson, Truckee Read Up! Coordinator at 530-575-7030 for information.

Beginning Guitar for adults announced

The Tahoe Music Institute is currently registering adult students for a beginning/early intermediate guitar class. The class, taught by Kerry Andras, is focused on learning the basics of playing guitar and covers topics such as tuning, chords, strumming, chord progressions, music theory, singing, folk and campfire songs. Classes meet Wednesday nights, 6-7 p.m. at the Tahoe Music Institute located at 2810 Lake Forest Road in Tahoe City. Call Shauna at 530-581-0618 or email shauna@tahoemusicinstitute.com for details or to register.

Kindred to offer classes

Kindred Art and Folk Institute offers a wide variety of sessions for all ages using multiple mediums so students are able to experience many different avenues and create to new ones together. Parent and Child Exploration, Tuesday’s 10 a.m.-noon.

March 26 – May 7, special session for children ages 2 – 5 and parents, focusing on experiencing new ways to see, explore and create in the world together. Sessions are geared toward mindful and creative projects related to the seasons; sustainable art and rhythm and culture. Potluck Poetry, March 26, free event, 6-8 p.m., last Tuesday of each month. Bring mind, body, soul, words and a dish to share; for an evening of good friends, food, inspiration, movement and play. All ages welcome.

For more information visit http://www.kindredtruckee.org or find them on Facebook. Located at 10015 Palisades Drive, Ste. A4, Truckee.

Tahoe-Truckee Flyfishers to meet

As part of the Tahoe-Truckee Fly Fishers’ ongoing programs welcoming both novice and newly arrived fly anglers; a presentation entitled “Fly Fishing Opportunities in the Truckee Area” will be featured after a brief meeting. The speaker is Frank R. Pisciotta, the acknowledged fly fishing “Dean of Guides” in the Tahoe area. The talk and digital images will focus on “Truckee Tips,” essentially facts, gleaned from Frank’s extensive fly fishing experience in the Truckee area. He built his first home in Truckee in 1979 and been guiding exclusively here since 1984. On March 21, 6:30 p.m., Truckee Community Recreation Center, 8924 Donner Pass Road, Truckee. Visit http://www.ttff.net for more information about the group.

Creative Writing: Exploring the Creative Process

What do you do to get creative? Do you wait for muses to deliver your inspiration (otherwise called procrastination)? Through fun writing prompts, lively discussions, and in-depth readings, this playful and productive class will open your mind to new approaches to your own creative process. We’ll experiment with catalysts for inspiration from the Surrealists and Oulipo to art and cross-genre works. This class is for all levels of writers looking to find new connections and infuse imagination into their writing.

Karen Terrey has an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She teaches English as an Adjunct Professor at Lake Tahoe Community College, and works as a writing coach in Truckee through her business Tangled Roots Writing. Her poems are published in various journals, including Sierra Nevada Review, Rhino, Meadow, Edge, WordRiot, Puerto Del Sol, and Wild Apples. Thursdays, 6-8:30 p.m., April 4-25. Tuition: $89. Instructor: Karen Terrey, MFA. Location: Sierra College, Tahoe-Truckee campus.

For Sierra College class information or sign up call 916-781-6280 or email: ghage@sierracollege.edu or Terrey at 530-386-3901.

Tahoe Fund Announces million dollar Founders Circle Campaign Goal

The Tahoe Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to funding environmental improvement projects in the Tahoe Basin, announced a million dollar fundraising goal for its Founders Circle campaign. Launched by the organization’s board of directors to provide a sustainable foundation for future growth and service to the Tahoe environment, the Founders Circle (www.tahoefund.org/about-us/our-founders) campaign has raised more than $850,000 in multi-year pledges and donations for the Tahoe Fund since May 2011 . The board of directors recently voted to keep the campaign open until the one million dollar goal is achieved. Since its founding in 2010, the Tahoe Fund has raised awareness of the need for more funding for critical environmental improvement projects around the Basin.

Donations of any amount are welcome by the Tahoe Fund. Founders Circle membership is open to supporterspledging $5,000 or more. Information is available at http://www.tahoefund.org or by emailing info@tahoefund.org.

Friends of Squaw Creek to hold biology forum

The Friends of Squaw Creek (FoSC) organization is offering a free forum open to the public about the biology of Squaw Creek, March 28, 6 p.m. at the Squaw Valley Public Services District meeting room, 305 Squaw Valley Road. Join fisheries biologist Ian Chan; Northern California Field Director for Trout Unlimited David Lass, and principal of Sound Watershed Mike Liquori for discussion on Squaw Creek’s historic and current status, along with opportunities for future environmental improvements. There will be a public question and answer session. 

Friends of Squaw Creek (FoSC) is a grassroots organization in Squaw Valley that originated in April of 2002 in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listing Squaw Creek on its 303d list of impaired streams due to excessive sediment as well as community alarm perceiving reduced stream flows and loss of fish population. FoSC brings together landowners, businesses, jurisdictional agencies, and private citizens dedicated to enhancing the Squaw Creek watershed. Visit http://www.squawcreek.org.